Batman Begins (2005)

 

Gallipoli (1981)

 

Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.

From memory: Large-scale anti-war drama of an infamous battle is excellently produced with good period details and performances and does get its message through, although there are quite a few historical inadequacies concerning the actual events.

Halliwell*: "Consistently interesting aspects of the 1914-18 war, but rather broken-backed as a story."

Maltin***1/2: "Engrossing human drama with meticulous direction, striking feel for period detail." 

 

Jaws (1975)

 

How to watch Jaws

Fünf letzte Tage (1982)

 

The five days between Sophie Scholl's arrest and her execution on 22 February 1943 as experienced by her cell neighbour Else Gebe.

From memory: Sparse, fragile and bleak one-room drama centers its narrative on the psychological hardships of the two prisoners and their relationship to each other and avoids dramatizing the actual historic event of their arrest, trial and execution.

 

 

Conrad Nagel

 

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Nagel

La femme d'à côté (1981)

 

Two ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses. Forbidden passions ensue.

From memory: A highly dramatic, passionate and ultimately tragic amour fou tale relies mostly on the strong performances by Ardant and Depardieu.

Halliwell (no star): "Rather uninteresting melodrama with a failure to communicate its apparent personal importance for the director."

Maltin***: "Somber, compassionate study of human nature and emotions,nicely acted by the two leads." 

Tsigoineruwaizen (1980)

 

Der Stand der Dinge (1982)

 

The crew is running out of money to finish their film.

From memory: Arguably Wim Wenders' best movie is a sum of his work and his artistry and also presents the haphazardness of film-making, photographed in beautiful black-and-white images; alone, the entrance sequence of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film demonstrates what Wenders would Wenders himself could have done with such a project.

Halliwell*: "A sort of B movie about the making of a B movie and a reflection on the meaning of cinema, within the loose format of a thriller."

Maltin***: "Fascinating if uneven mystery...Interesting as a peek behind the scenes at the filmmaking process, and as a homage to Corman." 

Return of the Fly (1959)

 

La femme de l'aviateur (1981)

 

A young student is devastated when he finds that his girlfriend is cheating on him. In order to find out why she did it, he decides to spy on her and her lover.

From memory: This Eric Rohmer drama about love and relationships is simply made (on 16mm) and is mainly centered on the conversations and stories that the protagonists tell each other than on a full narrative.

Halliwell*: "Meticulously arranged conversations in this director's best style, but this time not seeming to amount to very much."

Maltin***1/2: "Melancholy but charming story...Lovers of MAUD, CLAIRE, and CHLOE will be happy to find Rohmer in near-peak form after long layoff."